The Supreme Court declined to take up a plea to make the playing of the National Anthem mandatory in all courts without a formal petition and asked the lawyer to file a proper plea. The court has also sought the assistance of the Attorney General in this regard.
The petition comes in the back drop of the top court making it compulsory for the National Anthem to be played at all cinema halls before the screening of a film. The bench had also said, ‘..all present in the hall are obliged to stand up to show respect to the national anthem’ as a part of their ‘sacred obligation.’ The bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy had added that the movie screen shall have the image of the national flag when the anthem is being played and that doors of the halls will remain shut during the anthem so that no disturbance is caused.
